How first-time parents experience the first year with their baby

PARENTHOOD Most first-time parents in Denmark feel competent and experience low levels of parental stress during their child's first year of life. However, new research shows that some groups find it significantly more difficult – and that parents’ support needs changes over time.
Mother looking at infant
Photo: Mama Casual, Unsplash

A new study from the University of Copenhagen provides a nuanced picture of how first-time parents in experience the first year with their child. The study is based on responses from approximately 1,500 mothers and 700 fathers/co-parents from 26 municipalities.

The results challenge the image of new parents as insecure and stressed.

‘Becoming a parent for the first time is a major upheaval, but most parents in our study feel well equipped for the task,’ says Ida Egmose Pedersen, assistant professor at the Department of Psychology. She elaborates:

‘Parenting competence is not about having all the answers in advance, but about continuing to try things out until you find what works for you and your child.’

Although the study is based on responses from many parents, the participants do not represent the entire population.

‘Participation in research is voluntary, which means that we often see an overrepresentation of parents with higher education and Danish origins,’ says Ida Egmose Pedersen.

She adds that it is important to monitor the well-being of first-time parents, as the decrease in mental well-being among young people may affect future generations of parents:

‘It is possible that future first-time parents will feel more insecure and need more support than those we have studied now.’

Three groups stand out

However, some find life as first-time parents more difficult than the majority:

About the study

In a study based on responses from approximately 1,500 mothers and 700 fathers/co-parents from 26 municipalities, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have mapped how first-time parents in Denmark experience the first year with their child.

The study was conducted between 1 June 2019 and 15 September 2020. Parents were sent digital questionnaires when their child was 2, 4, 7 and 11 months old.

The study is entitled ‘The first year as a parent in Denmark: A study of first-time parents' experiences of competence, stress and task sharing’.

The project was led by Ida Egmose Pedersen, Laura Lærkegård Støve, Marianne Thode Krogh, Eva Back Madsen, Tina Wahl Haase and Mette Skovgaard Væver.

‘Mothers of premature babies and mothers outside the labour market experience greater challenges in their role as parents. They feel less competent and experience more parental stress,’ emphasises Ida Egmose Pedersen.

Finally, fathers in rural municipalities feel more stressed and less satisfied with parenthood than fathers in urban areas. The difference was clear, even though relatively few fathers from rural municipalities participated in the study.

‘This highlights the need to strengthen networks and support for fathers in rural areas – especially in light of the new parental leave policy, which give fathers longer leave,’ points out Ida Egmose Pedersen.

New parental leave policy can bring about change

The study also shows that mothers and fathers experience parenthood differently over time.

"Mothers feel more stressed in the first few months, but feel more competent later on. This indicates that support for new parents should be adapted and developed over time," says Ida Egmose Pedersen.

When the child is 11 months old, mothers still do most of the tasks related to the child. But the researchers see signs of change:

‘In families where parental leave is more evenly distributed and where parents have higher levels of education, the division of tasks is more balanced,’ notes Ida Egmose Pedersen.

The study was conducted before the implementation of the new parental leave policy, so the picture may already be changing.

‘But we'll need follow-up studies to see if the implementation of the new parental leave policy is actually leading to more equality at home – both in how tasks are shared and in how parenting is experienced,’ says Ida Egmose Pedersen.

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